Conan Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Those who are fortunate enough to have played the previous Conan game (by Cauldron, for the PS2 and Xbox) should be warned that this latest Conan game (by Nihilistic and Paradox, for the X360 and PS3) plays nothing like the same, beginning with the totally different controls and style of combat.

Left Stick

Walk and run.

Right Stick

Roll in the direction pressed. Rolling is very important, because it lets Conan quickly move toward as well as away from enemies.

Block. Press this just before receiving an enemy's quick attack to parry, which is a special block that sets up the enemy for a parry kill. However, blocking won't work against heavy attacks (yellow blur) and unblockable attacks (red blur).

Use Button

Perform a context-sensitive action, like taking a weapon from the ground, opening a gate, pushing down a pillar, opening a treasure chest, or pulling out an arrow after getting shot. When such an action can be performed, an icon will appear at the top right corner of the screen.

Throw Button

Throw a non-default weapon, like a second sword, a two-handed sword, or a shield.

Magic Button

Cast a spell. Press the D-Pad to change spells, if any are available.

Combat Abilities Button

Pause and access the Combat Abilities Screen.

Pause Button

Pause and access the game options.

Status Display

The life, magic, and Song of Death meters are displayed at the top left corner of the screen. To increase the size of the meters, successfully activate the Rune Triumvirates.

Life Meter (Green Bar)

Conan's life.

Song of Death Meter (Yellow Bar)

Increase this by hitting enemies. When it reaches maximum, Conan's attacks will temporarily increase in attack strength.

Magic Meter (Blue Bar)

Conan's magic, which is used to cast spells. The icon on the left side indicates the currently chosen spell.

Items

Life

A green energy ball. Restores a small amount of life.

Experience

A red energy ball. Adds experience points.

Magic

A blue energy ball. Restores a very small amount of magic.

Life Jug

A wine container giving off green fart vapors. Restores a moderate amount of life when used, but getting hit while drinking from this may cause the life inside to disappear.

Magic Jug

A small statue with sickly blue vapors. Restores 1 segment of magic.

Save Stone

A large blue stone. Records Conan's progress in the middle of a stage.

Treasure Chest

A container filled with gold. Adds 60 experience points. Conan can somehow look at money and then leave it behind to gain direct battle experience.

Maiden

A treasure chest with legs. Adds 100 experience points. Maidens are slightly smarter than chests because they will start calling out for help and whining when Conan moves near them.

Rune Triumvirate

A set of three runes inscribed on the floor. Find and use all three of these "triumvirs" within a limited period of time to lengthen the meter for life (green), magic (blue), or Song of Death energy (red).

Spells

In this game, Conan has apparently thrown aside his dislike of magic. Over the course of the missions, he will acquire four different spells (or "Armor Powers," whatever the hell you want to call them). The magic meter can go up to 8 segments total, if he activates all the Rune Triumvirates for magic (blue).

Stone Prison (D-Pad Left)

Costs 1 segment of magic. Creates a shotgun-like blast that temporarily petrifies regular enemies. Stone Prison is useful against bigger foes like lions and apes, but its reach is pitifully short and narrow, and it won't freeze living statues. Also make sure the intended targets are actually on the screen before using this spell against them.

Rain of Fire (D-Pad Up)

Costs 2 segments of magic. Creates a meteor storm. Rain of Fire can kill or weaken large groups of regular enemies, including living statues. And despite the manual's hints stating that Conan should stay inside the "safety zone" that's created when this spell is cast, he can move out of it without harm. Unfortunately, a glitch in the game occasionally causes the fireballs to not appear, wasting Conan's magic.

Raven Plague (D-Pad Right)

Costs 3 segments of magic. Creates a flock of evil ravens that will attack enemies. Or at least it's supposed to. Sometimes Raven Plague won't hit anything at all, making it useless. Save the magic for other spells instead.

Void (D-Pad Down)

Costs 4 segments of magic. Creates an interdimensional rift that sucks in and kills regular enemies. Void is a somewhat potent spell, but it can suck up only so many enemies before it vanishes, and it eats up a very large amount of magic.